Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Human Relations, 71 (5), 2018, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2018 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Human Relations page: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/hum on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Identity, mental health and work
T2 - how employees with mental health conditions recount stigma and the pejorative discourse of mental illness
AU - Elraz, Hadar
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Human Relations, 71 (5), 2018, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2018 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Human Relations page: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/hum on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - This article asks how identity is constructed for individuals with mental health conditions (MHCs) in the workplace. It takes especial regard to how MHCs are discursively situated, constructed and reconstructed in the workplace. Employees with MHCs face a difficult situation: not only do they need to deal with the stigma and discrimination commonly associated with MHCs, but they must also manage their health condition whilst adhering to organizational demands to demonstrate performance and commitment to work. Discourse analysis derived from 32 interviews with individuals with MHCs delineates how these individuals feel both stigmatized and empowered by their MHCs. The findings address three discursive strands: (i) a pejorative construction of mental illness in employment and society; (ii) contesting mental illness at work by embracing mental health management skills; and (iii) recounting mental illness through public disclosure and change. This article enhances understanding of how the construction of positive identity in the face of negative attributions associated with MHCs contributes to literature on identity, organizations and stigma as well as raising implications for policy and practice.
AB - This article asks how identity is constructed for individuals with mental health conditions (MHCs) in the workplace. It takes especial regard to how MHCs are discursively situated, constructed and reconstructed in the workplace. Employees with MHCs face a difficult situation: not only do they need to deal with the stigma and discrimination commonly associated with MHCs, but they must also manage their health condition whilst adhering to organizational demands to demonstrate performance and commitment to work. Discourse analysis derived from 32 interviews with individuals with MHCs delineates how these individuals feel both stigmatized and empowered by their MHCs. The findings address three discursive strands: (i) a pejorative construction of mental illness in employment and society; (ii) contesting mental illness at work by embracing mental health management skills; and (iii) recounting mental illness through public disclosure and change. This article enhances understanding of how the construction of positive identity in the face of negative attributions associated with MHCs contributes to literature on identity, organizations and stigma as well as raising implications for policy and practice.
KW - disability
KW - discourse
KW - employment
KW - mental illness
KW - mental health
KW - MHC
U2 - 10.1177/0018726717716752
DO - 10.1177/0018726717716752
M3 - Journal article
VL - 71
SP - 722
EP - 741
JO - Human Relations
JF - Human Relations
SN - 0018-7267
IS - 5
ER -